Timbo Slice

So the timeline now looks like this: -Punk tries to mentor younger guys and it doesn’t get received well, most specifically by Page, leading to resentment, along with his general curmudgeonly nature turning off certain parts of the locker room that were more or less harmonious (where many folks feel Cabana leaving given his positive backstage standing with the locker room can be attributed to Punk’s arrival) -Resentment grows to the point where Adam Page becomes the focal point during their feud, and Page uses that as a way to go into business for himself during the money promo for their PPV match, which Punk takes as an opportunity to have a receipt ready when necessary -Receipt is given by Punk after his injury, which raises simmering ires to unseen levels, isolating Punk more than what has happened the previous several months -Punk then gets hurt again, knows it’s going to put him out for a long time again, and being pissed off, takes the simmering ires completely nuclear, going scorched earth due to frustration both with the gossipy nature of the locker room angling against him and his own body betraying him during a run he really wanted -The Elite takes Punk’s comments to heart given they perceive themselves as big in stature as Punk (objectively not true) and haven’t been called out like that before, so they respond in kind and the altercation happens The escalation seems about as organic as you could imagine given the participants’ proclivities and differing philosophies. And something that, if there were adults in the room, could have been handled a lot sooner. This isn’t something that just suddenly happened. Tony letting this play out was a giant mistake.

I think it’s becoming more and more apparent that him getting hurt again so soon after dealing with the foot injury is the big driver here, and that it allowed all the other transgressions to bubble to the surface. He’s pissed because none of this is working out the way he wanted to and he’s taking it out on others. But the other people involved aren’t exactly dousing the flames, either.

Mox cutting the loudest subtweet of all time.

Just in time for a Royal Rumble spot. Gotta love it.

D’arcy Carden. Respectfully.

Really need Dylan to dust off the screen name to tell his Colt stories.

So the fact that you hear “Punk’s situation will be clear soon” tells me Meltz’s sources only go so far. Tony playing this one close to his chest.

The Punk/Steel leaving part is conflating and assuming, so I wouldn’t put too much into that with Punk. What I have not seen reported yet but is absolutely part of the calculus: Warner reps perhaps being insistent on Punk sticking around to get AEW the best TV deal. You wonder if Tony has been holding off on doing anything big so close to signing it. There’s a lot to Warner thinking the investment is better with Punk than without.

Throw a case of beer like LA Park instead.

Cabana was well respected by the roster and thought of as a coach with actual input rather than his on-screen presence. This aligns with how the locker room perceives itself as a whole: The value the locker room has is in guys like Colt makes it more fraternal, building itself up bereft of “outsiders.” That having Colt and others around while they began to explode meant he was indispensable to some. Especially given many thought he took on the Brodie role after he passed, not on screen, but as the elder statesman of Dark Order. I think it’s an underreported aspect of this.

If that’s the case, The Elite is just as delusional as Punk.

My question is pretty straightforward: for someone with a history of going after people with deliberation, why would Punk decide to go after the Elite without provocation? We’re talking about perhaps the most notable collector of receipts in the history of wrestling. When he decides to call someone out, it’s with a purpose.

I don’t think either of them have much other than speculation. Because how they’ve reported on it so far has been haphazard. So maybe it does have to be Tony at this point.

Keller doesn’t have anything at all. Tons of speculation. Unreal.

There’s still an opportunity to do business here. But this part is what determines that.

That’s a good one.

Tony sees it that way; problem is that the talent involved takes these things way too seriously already, as evidenced by how both sides have acted. The other issue is that both sides have valid issues here, which blurs how folks can treat either side. It’s better if there are defined roles coming out of something like this.

Everyone did this to themselves: -The Bucks and Omega did it because they’re the leakers to Meltzer and the like to sow the seeds of discontent with Punk. -Punk did it because he reacted with the unheralded vitriol that made him leave the business in the first place and the first sign of malice was an opportunity to give into his worst impulses. -Page did it because he worked himself into a shoot and it made things difficult to actually confront Punk about it because in his eyes, he should be the face of the company, worked it into multiple promos related to Punk, and then more or less did what his on-screen character did in the locker room. -Tony did it because he grew up reading dirtsheets and thought using them as a vessel to drive “organic” interest in the product no matter how it actually manifests itself is worthwhile because that’s what got him interested in wanting to do this shit in the first place. -And the sheets did it because they run a perpetual motion machine that when actually confronted with needing to report on something, show their collective asses because their sources are obvious and their behavior screams, “How can I get more clicks off this?” The ecosystem that allowed this to fester is something that won’t go away anytime soon, and the fallout from it is not going to be as interesting as anyone hopes. It will be sudden, it will be dumb, and it’ll end with whoever decides to take a side saying the other person did it. Also, people saying Cody was smart for getting out as if he could see this coming: The only difference between Cody and Punk is that Cody knew he had a backup plan and went that route instead of confronting folks more than he already did. He was just as isolated as Punk was, he was trying to craft his own narrative given how the locker room had been shaking out, and he believed his own bullshit enough that it turned folks off. And if folks think he’s the guy once he comes back now that Paul is in charge? Cmon now.

Has to protect his sources now, doesn’t he?

People want to be backstage so much they’re surprised it’s being put out there like that. The dirt sheet promotion to end all dirt sheet promotions. Tony Khan breaking and rebuilding the wrestling news cycles in the span of a single evening. An incredible moment.

Dude setting up his next half dozen programs.

The EVP stuff reads like how to set up more stuff with Page/Omega down the line. Omega has been shooty with Ospreay and that’s just a continuation of it. And then the first question using Colt’s shoot name almost screams setup. Punk knows exactly what he’s doing in both situations.

Was that way in June, too. It’s such a terrible thing to make it the only way to watch it.

Honky Tonk Cage

But what else could he have? That’s the issue about making big statements like that. Cole’s return already should have happened so that’s a no go, too.